Where Collaboration Accelerates Innovation

The 17 Manufacturing USA Innovation Institutes, sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Defense and Energy, advance critical areas of manufacturing technology, supply chain resilience and workforce development.

Founded in 2022, the U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Council (USMIC) brings institute leadership together to strengthen collaboration, align shared priorities and amplify the collective voice of the Manufacturing USA network.

Advancing Industry

Together, We Advance U.S. Manufacturing—Turning Investment Into Measurable Impact

Since the first Manufacturing USA institute launched in 2012, the network has helped accelerate advanced manufacturing technologies from research toward real-world application. Through shared investment, applied R&D and industry collaboration, the institutes have generated hundreds of patents and license agreements, advanced technologies toward commercialization and multiplied the impact of federal funding.

$539.9M

Invested in FY2023

Total expenditures across the Manufacturing USA institute network supporting advanced manufacturing technology, workforce and related programs.

85%

Key Project Objectives Met

85% of key technical project objectives were achieved across the network’s applied R&D portfolio in FY2023. 920+ Applied R&D Technology Projects

$2.4 : $1

Federal Funding Multiplied

For every $1 in base federal funding, the institutes attracted approximately $2.40 in additional co-investment from private, state, federal and other sources. More than twice the program’s minimum 1:1 matching requirement

Strengthening the Workforce

Accelerating the Development of an Advanced Manufacturing Workforce

850,000+ Participants to Date

Manufacturing USA institutes are helping build the skilled workforce needed to turn emerging technologies into U.S. manufacturing capabilities. Through industry-aligned programs, the network connects workers, students and educators with the skills required for increasingly advanced manufacturing careers.

The scale of participation demonstrates the institutes’ ability to reach learners across the country while connecting workforce development directly to emerging manufacturing technologies. These programs help industry address critical skills gaps, expand pathways into advanced manufacturing careers and prepare workers to adopt technologies moving from research into production.

Explore the National Academies’ vision for how Manufacturing USA can strengthen workforce development and advanced manufacturing capabilities through 2030 and 2035.

Accelerating Defense Innovation

Advancing Military Technology. Protecting the Warfighter.

Manufacturing USA institutes play a critical role in ensuring U.S. warfighters have the technologies, equipment and support they need to operate safely and effectively. Across the network, institutes are moving innovations in advanced materials, additive manufacturing, digital engineering, electronics and biomanufacturing from development toward deployment—improving survivability, accelerating production and sustainment, and strengthening U.S. military readiness.

Innovations with direct warfighter impact:

Advancing Hypersonic and Extreme-Environment Materials

LIFT’s hypersonics initiatives combine advanced materials, testing and digital engineering to accelerate manufacturing technologies capable of operating in extreme environments and transition new warfighting capabilities into production.

Modernizing Defense Production and Readiness

MxD has deployed digital-twin technology to help the Army scale munitions production and installed machine-health sensor systems at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard to improve submarine maintenance planning and reduce equipment downtime.

Accelerating Critical Parts and Field Sustainment

Additive manufacturing is enabling military personnel to produce mission-critical components closer to where they are needed. America Makes helped develop a secure system for warfighters to access approved 3D-printing files and supported additive manufacturing training for Naval Aviation personnel to produce critical parts at sea.

Improving Warfighter Health and Safety

NextFlex is advancing lightweight, wearable hybrid electronics for defense applications. One technology—the first U.S.-made intrinsically safe wearable heat-stress monitor—has been field tested and is entering early Marine Corps procurement to improve personnel safety.

“The DoW MIIs are game-changing catalysts that serve as a connective tissue uniting innovative industrial networks with emerging technology and market sectors in the U.S. Convening this network of visionaries enables DoW to connect with the network needed to bring new technologies to U.S. warfighters.”

—DoW ManTech Program 2025

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Creating National Innovation Ecosystems

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the United States Manufacturing Innovation Council (USMIC)?

The U.S. Manufacturing Innovation Council is a national network of linked Manufacturing USA Institutes that work collaboratively to advance U.S. advanced manufacturing, strengthen competitiveness, and build a skilled workforce.

The USMIC represents 17 national Manufacturing USA Institutes, each focused on specific technology areas critical to U.S. manufacturing innovation.

The institutes are sponsored by federal agencies including the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Commerce, in partnership with industry, academia, and other partners.

The institutes accelerate the development and adoption of manufacturing technologies, provide standards for advanced manufacturing, and support workforce training to meet strategic national economic and security needs.

Member organizations include manufacturers (of all sizes), academic institutions, and government partners that collaborate on technology development and workforce initiatives.  In fact, more than 45% of institute members are small and midsized manufacturers, and the institutes help expand regional economic activity and innovation across diverse company sizes.

Collectively, the institutes have engaged thousands of members on technology projects, delivered hundreds of patents and licenses, advanced many technologies toward commercialization, and provided workforce training to hundreds of thousands of participants.

They provide shared facilities, applied R&D programs, pilot-scale demonstrations, and industry collaboration that reduce risk and speed adoption.

By supporting manufacturers, training workers, and attracting investment, the institutes help strengthen regional innovation ecosystems and create high-quality manufacturing jobs.

The institutes offer training programs at all levels that build practical skills aligned with industry needs and support higher-paying, long-term employment across the manufacturing sector.

Institutes work together across the network to share resources, overcome technical challenges, accelerate innovation, and connect industry, academia, and government stakeholders.

Interested individuals or organizations can connect through the USMIC contact channels to learn about partnership opportunities, events, and ways to participate in advancing American manufacturing.  Companies, academic institutions, workforce organizations, and individuals can engage through membership, project participation, training programs, events, and collaborative initiatives.

The institutes focus on bridging the gap between research and commercialization by combining technology development, workforce training, and industry-led partnerships under one coordinated public-private partnership model.